Splitting machine



Aug. 3, 1937.- c. HQQD 2,088,745

I SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 16, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l VE/V TU FL (30mm, 2.

Aug. 3, 1937. c. E. HOOD SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 16, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 3, 192.7. E. HOOD 2,088,745

SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 16, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheetfi cem mz mp fix Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPLITTING MACHINE Application October 16, 1934, Serial No. 748,522

7 Claims.

This invention relates to splitting machines and is herein disclosed as embodied in a machine for splitting a sole-shaped leather blank into an insole and an outsole.

In the manufacture of shoes of a certain type, it is customary to form from a sole-shaped blank an outsole having a projection on its forepart on the flesh side, and a skeleton insole having an opening in its forepart which is the counterpart of the projection on the outsole.

In order to accomplish this result in a single operation, a sole-shaped blank is presented in proper timed relation to a pair of suitably shaped rolls one of which has a matrix, said rolls in turn acting to feed the blank to a knife. In

the illustrated machine, the presentation is accomplished by a plate or table provided with adjustable gages for properly locating blanks of different lengths and widths thereon, and adjusting mechanism for locating the plate in different initial positions, said table being reciprocated in timed relation to the rotation of the rolls. Inasmuch as the sole-shaped blanks may be either rights or lefts, certain of the gages are so constructed and arranged that they may be adjusted into positions for locating either kind of blanks.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan of a portion of a machine in 30 which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of a sole-shaped blank to the forepart of which has been imparted a 5 preliminary molded shape, said sole having in its forepart a bulge which projects from its grain side;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the skeleton insole which results from the splitting of the sole- 40 shaped blank;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the resulting outsole having a projection in its forepart on the flesh side; and

Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of part of the 45 mechanism for adjusting the reciprocating plate which presents the blanks to the rolls.

The illustrated machine is of that general type having mechanism for presenting a blank in proper timed relation to a pair of rolls one of 50 which is provided with a matrix cavity, said rolls in turn feeding the blank to a knife. The machine as thus far described is old and will be briefly described before proceeding to a description of the construction which is new. A

55 feed table 5 (Fig. 2) is formed as the top of a hollow member '5 mounted upon parallel-motion links, two of which are shown at 9, said links being rocked in proper timed relation to the rotation of a matrix roll, the operative portion of which is a sleeve ll, and a feed roll l3, first 5 to present a sole blank Hill to the rolls and then to return the feed table 5 to the position shown ready to present another sole blank. The bearings of the lower feed roll l3 are carried by arms IS the rear ends of said arms being hung on 10 alined pivots I! (Fig. 1). Heavy compression springs, one of which is shown at I9 in Fig. 2, normally urge the forward ends of these feedroll-supporting arms 15 upwardly and hold forward extensions H5 on these arms in contact 15 with stop screws 2| which may be turned to adjust the normal or initial position of the lower roll. The bearings of the upper roll are vertically slidable in ways formed in the frame of the machine and may be adjusted vertically so 20 as to hold this roll unyieldingly at the desired height above the level of the edge of a stationary knife 35 which is located behind the rolls. The matrix sleeve II is held to rotate with its shaft 23 by a key mounted in the shaft and received in a keyway in the sleeve; and the sleeve may be removed and replaced. The sleeve is held from longitudinal movement (Fig. 1) between a stationary bearing 24 for one end of the shaft 23 and a removable bushing 25 which forms the bearing of the other end of the shaft. This bushing is held from moving outward (to the right as shown in Fig. 1) by a hollow enlargement or cap on a lever 26, said cap having a locking projection 21 which is received, in the position of parts shown, in a guideway or groove in the stationary member 28 in which the bushing 25 is mounted. The lever is pivoted about a stud 29 and is provided with a handle 30 whereby the lever may be swung about the stud to move its enlargement or cap out of register with the bore in the stationary member 28 and remo-ve the locking projection 21 from its groove, whereupon first the bushing 25 and then the matrix sleeve H may be pulled out between 5 the spokes of a large gear 3|. The lower end of the lever 26 has a hook which engages a part of the treadle mechanism of the machine to prevent the treadle from being manipulated to start the machine when the lever has been swung as described above to permit removal and replacement of the matrix sleeve. The enlargement or cap of the lever has a spring-pressed pawl 3i which prevents the lever from being swung back into the position shown until the bushing 25 has been replaced. The shaft 23 of the matrix roll has fast to it a large gear 32, and the shaft of the feed roll has fast to it a large gear 3|, said gears being driven in opposite directions. To this end, the shaft of a driving pulley 34 has a small pinion, not shown, which meshes with the under side of a large gear 35, said large gear meshing with a gear 36 on a horizontal shaft 31. The shaft has at one end. a small gear 38 which meshes with the large gear 3|, and at the other end a small gear, not shown, which meshes with the under side of a small gear 39, said last-named gear meshing with the large gear 32 on the matrix roll shaft. A treadle-controlled clutch on the shaft of the pulley 34 is provided which, upon depression of a treadle, imparts one revolution to the matrix and feed rolls and brings them to rest in the positions shown. The parallel links 9 (Fig. 2) are rocked by suitable connections with a cam, not shown, formed on the gear 35. As thus far described, the construction is or may be substantially the same as the corresponding construction of the machine shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,382,689, granted on June 28, 1921, upon an application filed in the name of William C. Stewart, to which reference is made for details not herein described. It may be noted that in the patented machine certain driving mechanism is provided for causing the speed of rotation of the matrix sleeve to be varied at times but that this mechanism is not present in the illustrated machine.

The patented machine is adapted to remove skivings from the shanks of sole blanks. The machine of the present invention, as has been indicated, is adapted to split a sole blank I00 (Fig. 3) in such manner as to produce from it an outsole 208 (Fig. 5) having a projection 300 on the forepart of its flesh side, and an insole 400 (Fig. 4) which has an opening 500 in its forepart corresponding to the projection on the outsole. Both insole and outsole are of uniform thickness throughout their rear parts, the insole being considerably thinner than the outsole. The thickness of the insole in its forepart decreases toward the opening 508 while the the thickness of the outsole in its forepart increases toward the projection 300. Before the sole blank is operated upon by the machine, it may be molded, if desired, to cause a bulge 600 of proper outline in its forepart on the grain side, as shown in Fig. 3. This preliminary molding ensures a more accurate splitting operation but is not essential and may be dipensed with.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the sole blank I00 7 is not placed directly upon the table 5 but upon a plate 45 which is mounted for sliding adjustment on the table toward and from the rolls. To this end, the plate has alined slots 41, 49. In the forward slot 41 is located a portion of reduced diameter of the head of a guide-screw 5|, the stem of which is threaded into the table. In the slot 49 is located a portion of reduced diameter of the head of a second guide-screw 53, the stem of this screw being also threaded into the table. To the under side. of the table is fastened by means of a screw 56 a block 55 through which an adjusting screw 51 is threaded, said adjusting screw being mounted for rotation in but held from longitudinal movement with respect to a second block 59 which is fastened to the plate 45 by screws 6| and extends down through an opening in the table 5. A small screw 60 provided with a check nut 62 frictionally engages the adjusting screw 51 so as to hold the latter screw in adjusted position. The adjusting screw 51, by the turning of which the blank-supporting plate 45 may be adjusted toward and from the rolls, is provided at its outer end with a small knurled finger-hold 58 and adjacent to that with an enlarged cylinder having ahelix marked upon it, the turns of which are equidistant from one another and are numbered from 2 to 9 (Fig. 6). Running lengthwise of this cylinder are five straight lines marked respectively A, B, C, D and E Cooperating with the cylinder is a pointer 63 fastened to the table 5 by screws 65. The letters represent widths and the numbers sizes; and by turning the fingerhold 58 the sole blank-supporting plate 45 may be adjusted into positions suitable for sole blanks from size 2, width A, to size 9, width E.

In order to permit the operator to place either right or left soles upon the plate 45 in proper position to be operated upon, a set of gages is provided. In Fig. l, a right sole, grain side up, is shown in full lines, the toe end of the sole engaging a toe gage 61 which is pivoted to the plate 45 at 69 and has a stem held by a small tension spring 1| against the end of an adjusting screw 13 threaded through a block 15 which is fastened by screws to the plate 45. Also fastened to the plate 45 is a scale 11, representing sizes, which cooperates with the sharp end of the stem of the toe gage 61. The sole I00 at about its ball line'is in engagement with a gage 19 having a downwardly extending rib which is slidably received in a slot 8| in the plate 45, said gage being held in adjusted position by a headed screw 83 which passes through a slot in the gage and is threaded into the plate. The sole at about its heel breast line is in engagement With a gage 85 which is slidably mounted in the same manner as the gage 19 and is similarly held in adjusted position by a headed screw 81. When a left sole such as the one indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1 is to be operated upon,

the positions of the gages 19 and 85 are changedso that the gage 19 then serves as a heel breast line gage and the gage 85 as a ball line gage.

The toe gage 61, which has been described above, is used for right soles. When left soles are to be operated upon, a similar toe gage 89, which is pivoted to the plate 45 at 9| and the stem of which is held against the end of an adjusting screw 93 by a small tension spring 95,-

is used. The screw 93 is threaded through a small block 91 which is fastened to the plate 45 by screws 99; and the sharp end of the stem of the toe gage 89 cooperates with a size-scale l0] fastened to the plate 45 by screws I03. With' this construction, sole blanks of different sizes,

widths and styles may be located on the plate 45 so that they will be properly engaged by the matrix roll.

The matrix sleeve H is unlike the matrix sleeves of the patented machine in that it is provided with two matrix cavities, one for right and one for left soles, and that it may be placed on the roll shaft in two positions apart so as to render a selected one of the two matrix cavities operative. sleeve II has formed in its interior two diametrically opposite guideways, either one of which may be caused to receive a key I04 carried by the shaft 23. As shown, the key is in the righthand guideway, and the matrix cavity I05 is operative for right soles. The sleeve may, however, be removed after the manner which has Referring to Fig. 2, the matrix be fed to and past the edge of the knife.

been described. above in connection with the patented machine and, after having been rotated 180, replaced with the key I04 in the guideway IIJ'I so that the matrix cavity I09 for left soles will be in operative position.

Ordinarily, in skiving machines employing a matrix roll and a feed roll, the feed roll, when there is no work in the machine, occupies a position in which its top or uppermost element is very close to the edg of the knife. In the present machine, however, in which the piece split ad and passing beneath the knife (that is the insole of Fig. 4) must have an edge of a predetermined and appreciable thickness, it is desirable to adjust the feed roll so that normally, when there is no work in the machine, its top will be below the level of the edge of the knife a'distance just a little less than the desired thickness of the edge of the insole. In order to facilitate the adjusting of the feed roll, the stop screws 2| carry small bevel pinions at their upper ends which mesh respectively with two other bevel pinions at the opposite ends of a horizontal rotary adjusting shaft III (Fig. 1) having near its middle a hand-wheel H3; and preferably a scale and pointer, not shown, will be provided to indicate the distance of the edge of the knife from the top of the feed roll which corresponds to the angular position of the hand-wheel H3. The matrix roll is also adjusted, as in the patented machine, to the desired distance above the edge of the knife for blanks of different thicknesses. With a construction of this kind in which the feed roll is never permitted to rise to a. position in which its top is practically on a level with the edge of the knife, difficulty is likely to be experienced in feeding the trailing portion of the blank past the knife. In order to overcome this difliculty, the matrix sleeve is provided with projections I I4, two projections for each matrix cavity, which engage the trailing edge of the sole blank respectively near the ball line and near the heel breast line and act as pushers to ensure that the trailing portion of the blank shall The projections II I are small blocks the bases of which are dovetailed and received in dovetailed guideways formed in the matrix sleeve, said blocks being held from sliding out of their guideways by small blocks I I6 set into the matrix sleeve and fastened by screws II5.

When a sole, for example the sole IIJIJ of Fig. 1, is operated upon to produce the insole 400 of Fig. 4 and the outsole 20B of Fig. 5, the cut of the knife takes place substantially in the direction indicated by the arrows in these two figures. Referring to Fig. 4, the knife enters along the line II! and part of it emerges from the flesh side of the blank along the line II9, this portion of the 0 knife passing under the projection 300 (since the sole blank is grain side up at the time) and reentering the blank along the line I2 I. In order to ensure that the knife shall enter the blank along the line I2I, at which time the blank is of 65 course being distorted by reason of the matrix,

means is provided for imparting an extra bend to the blank toward the knife when the knife reaches this line. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, this means takes the form of a narrow plate I23 fas- 70 tened in place in a socket formed in the matrix sleeve I I, the upper surface of this plate being substantially concentric with and being located slightly above the surface of the matrix sleeve, a part of a wall of the matrix being formed on 75 this plate. Thus, at the time the portion of the knife referred to above reaches the line I2 I (Fig. 4) an extra bend has been imparted to the blank to present it at a proper angle to the edge of the knife.

In the operation of the machine, assuming that a right sole I00 is being operated upon, the plate 45 and the gages 61, I9 and 85 mounted upon it are adjusted into the positions shown, and the matrix roll and feed roll are adjusted vertically in accordance with the thickness of the blank and the thickness of the insole which is to be removed from the blank, it being understood that the blank is fed grain side up, that the sole passes over the knife and the insole beneath it. Having properly located the sole on the plate 45, the treadle of the machine is depressed. The'table 5 with the sole-supporting plate 45 moves forward to present the sole blank sidewise to the matrix roll and the feed roll, said feed roll, unlike the feed roll of the patented machine, having a surface which is knurled or provided with very fine teeth so as not to injure the insole blank. As

soon as the rolls have firmly engaged the blank,

the feed table is withdrawn. Asthe blank is fed through the machine, its rear part, which 'is in engagement with the smooth part of the matrix roll, is split into a comparatively thin insole part and a comparatively thick outsole part (Figs. 4 and 5). The forepart of the blank, however, encounters the matrix and is distorted so that the forepart of the blank is split in the manner shown in the last-named figures. During this splitting, a portion of the knife emerges from the blank along the line I I9 and enters the blank again along the line I 2|, the blank being further bent or distorted by the plate I23 to facilitate the entering of the knife. Toward the end of the operation, the projections M4 on the matrix roll engage the trailing edge of the blank and ensure that its trailing portion shall be fed past the edge of the knife to complete the splitting operation. The machine comes to rest with the parts in the positions shown. If left soles are to be operated upon, the gages I9, 85 and 89 are adjusted to proper positions, and the matrix sleeve is removed, turned 180 and replaced, after which the machine is operated in the manner which has just been described.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for operating upon a blank having, in combination, a roll provided with a matrix cavity, a feed roll, a knife, and means for rotating the rolls to feed the blank to the knife and to distort the blank in such manner that the knife is caused to emerge from a surface of the blank and then to enter said surface, a portion of one edge of said matrix cavity being higher than the corresponding portion of the opposite edge.

2. A machine for operating upon a blank having, in combination, a roll provided with a matrix cavity, a feed roll, a knife, and means for rotating the rolls to feed the blank to the knife and to distort the blank in such manner that the knife is caused to emerge from a surface of the blank and then to enter said surface, a portion of one edge of said matrix cavity projecting beyond the cylindrical part of the surface of the matrix roll.

3. A machine for operating upon sole-shaped blanks having, in combination, a pair of rolls, a knife, means for rotating the rolls, a work-presenting plate, means for reciprocating the plate in timed relation to the rotation of the rolls, and.

two gages mounted on the plate for engagement with the edge of sole-shaped blanks at the forepart and at the rear part, said gages being adjustable toward and from the rolls so that either one may serve as a forepart gage or a rear part gage according to whether right-sole-shaped blanks or left sole-shaped blanks are being operated upon.

4. A machine for operating upon blanks having, in combination, a matrix roll, a feed roll, a knife, and means for rotating said rolls, said matrix roll comprising a shaft, a sleeve having formed thereon two matrices, and means for mounting said sleeve on its shaft in either one of two positions according to which matrix is to be operative.

5.-A machine for operating upon blanks having, in combination, a pair of rolls, a knife, means for rotating the rolls to feed the blank to the knife, blank-presenting means, means for operating the presenting means in timed relation to the rotation of the rolls, and means for adjusting the initial position of the presenting means, said adjusting means including a rotatable adjusting member having a cylindrical portion on which is a helix the turns of which "is caused totemerge from asurface of the blank and then to enter said surface; and a plate fastened .to and projecting above the surface of the cylindrical portion of the matrix roll, a part of one wall of the matrix cavity being formed in' the edgeeof the plate.

7. A machine for operating upon a blank having, in combination, a pair of rolls, a knife, meansfor rotating the rolls, a table upon which theoperator places the blank for presentation to the rolls, a-gage for engaging one end of the blank, two gages for engaging separated localities on the edgeof one side of the blank, and means for moving said table and gages to present the blank sidewise to the rolls.

CHARLES E. HOOD. 

